Tuesday, February 25, 2014

What We Accomplished Wednesday #43

Want to be a pin-up girl? Join the party, and if you are featured, I'll pin your project to my Green Willow Pond Features Board!


I've been twirling away in my new polka dot and ruffled apron this week. If you missed that post you can read all about it here.


I've also spent some time behind the scenes updating my Projects page, where you can see all my projects on one page with links out to each post if you are ever so bored that you are banging your head on the desk because you have nothing to do!


This week is going to be extra busy as two people at work are on vacation, so I'm working lots of extra hours! I promise that I visit every single linkup, but I may not have time to leave comments this week. I'm asking for forgiveness ahead of time :) You know I love you right?

Without furthur ado, here are the features from last weeks party!  Just look at this amazing closet that Mindi from My Love 2 Create built all by herself!  I can't believe how much storage she packed in here...you just have to take a peek.


I am in love with this Paris gray desk that Sayuri, from Vintage Breeze painted.  Love the color and the stenciling on the top drawers.  


Check out this mirrored craftsman buffet that Faye, from The Shabby Cottage Home painted.  I love that mirror and the finish she used on the buffet.


Penny, at Penny's Vintage Home wrapped her dining chairs with vintage tablecloths and tucked a stem of roses in the back of each one.  So simple, yet so pretty!


Heather, from Southern Abbey, shared her beautiful new vintage style laundry room.  There are lots of pretty details in this room.


Isn't this grand piano cake amazing?  The piano keys are Kit Kats! Nici, at Posed Perfection shares how she made it for her daughter's birthday.


Your Turn!  Join in the fun and share what you've been up to lately.

Da Simple and Easy Rules

1. Only projects you have made/accomplished pretty please. Items for sale are okay, as long as they are in tutorial form, and linked to your blog post.  No links to shops or Etsy stores, or round-up posts of others projects please.  Link up to 3 posts - please link posts new to this party.

2. Linking back to the party (text or button) within your post is very much appreciated . You can grab a button from the side bar if you like.

3. By linking up here, you are giving me permission to feature you here, on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and/or Pinterest.  I'll only use 1-2 pictures from your post and link back to you. Then people will be flocking to your blog to read all about it!!  Spreadin' the love around baby!
Most importantly, go visit some of the links because otherwise it wouldn't be a party would it? 

I am no longer automatically adding you to my email list to send out reminders about the party. If you want a reminder each week, just use the little sign up form below. You will only be signing up for party notifications. I will not use this list for anything else, nor will I ever share it with anyone. ever. period.

 


Please don't pin other's work from this party.  Visit the link and pin from the source. Thanks!








Saturday, February 22, 2014

Polka Dots and Ruffles


I have a confession to make. I have a thing for polka dots. I also have a thing for ruffles. They conjure up the image of eight year old, giggly, twirling girls to me, but I can't help myself. They just melt me a little ya know?


When these great polka dot fabrics started showing up on the store shelves, I couldn't resist...plus I needed a new apron. My one and only apron was one I received for our wedding. It is still in excellent shape which is both a testament to the quality of it, and of how often (not) I actually use an apron. I can't tell you how many tops I've gotten grease splatters on. Duh! Wear an apron Nimrod!


I decided to also purchase a premade white apron at JoAnn's with my half-off coupon. It was a plain white twill apron that cost me less than $3.00.  It is surprisingly very well made for the price too. It would have cost me more to buy the fabric, let alone a pattern and thread. Side note: We have glorious sunshine today so I had to get some outdoor shots, but the wind is fierce. I nearly turned into a human ice cube taking these shots for you. Cause' that's how much I love you. You're welcome.


I couldn't leave the apron plain though. Enter my beloved polka dots...and ruffles. Each new layer brought a bigger smile to my face as I stitched them on. I loved them. The bottom of the apron was all happy and flouncy, but the top felt a little left out.


So I made it a flower pin, and added some more polka dots around the neck  Red polka dotted ribbon to be exact...just sewn onto the strap. Easy peasy. And polka dotted.




Here I am rocking polka dots and ruffles. No I do not have a head...not today. No make-up and bad hair means no head shots. So what do you think? Too eight year old girlish? Never mind...I don't care. I'm too busy twirling around my kitchen in my polka dot ruffles.


Here's to the eight year old, giggly girl hiding inside us all. Twirl on girls...twirl on!




I'm so honored that this project was featured at:


This post is linked to these awesome parties:

Skip the Housework at Reasons to Skip the Housework
Spotlight Saturday at Classy Clutter
Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things
Bouquet of Talent at Life on Lakeshore Drive
Saturday Sparks at Pieced Pastimes
Share it One More Time at One More Time Events
Sunday Showoff Party at Twigg Studios
Silver Pennies Sundays at Finding Silver Pennies
That DIY Party at DIY Showoff
From Dream to Reality at the DIY Dreamer
Brag About It at VMG206
Proect Inspired at An Extraordinary Day

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

What We Accomplished Wednesday #42

Want to be a pin-up girl? Join the party, and if you are featured, I'll pin your project to my Green Willow Pond Features Board!

Just a quick announcement: If you tried to grab the code for my buttons and they didn't work before, I have fixed them and believe everything is working correctly now. If you try them would you let me know if they work for you?  They are on my right sidebar (scroll down a bit). Help yourself! Thanks so much!

Here's what I've been up to this week (not much). I did receive two amazing giveaway's that I won. I added a bit of the glitter that I won to this beautiful ATC artwork. You can read about that here.


I also posted a tutorial for the paint and stencil treatment I gave my Grain Sack Rocking Chair.


I have a couple of projects that I'm very excited about, but they aren't quite finished. I will be posting one of those later this week, so don't forget to check back for a peek at that!

Now, take a peek at the awesome features from last weeks party! Diane, from An Extraordinary Day created the most darling Valentine's Mantle for almost no cost! I just love the birch branch banner and dimensional book page hearts...and isn't that XO sign adorable?


Poppy, at With a Dash of Color, made this sweet burlap and doily pillow. I love the pom pom fringe!  


I am on the look-out for a carved French chair that I can recover and I want it to look just like this one by Paula of Locksley Lane. Be still my heart!


I love the gray aged quality of these beauties by Martinel Art. Aren't they pretty?


My senses are screaming for spring. I want to hear bird song, feel the sun's warmth and see pretty green plants. Mallori, at Repurposed Vintage Finds has put together some gorgeous spring vignettes. Spring is coming!


My husband loves chocolate covered cherries, so when I saw this delicious looking and easy Candied Cherry Fudge made by Lori at Marvin's Daughter, I knew I had another recipe to add to my box!


Your turn! Share what you accomplished this week. I can hardly wait!

 Da Simple and Easy Rules
1. Only projects you have made/accomplished pretty please. Items for sale are okay, as long as they are in tutorial form, and linked to your blog post.  No links to shops or Etsy stores, or round-up posts of others projects please.  Link up to 3 posts - please link posts new to this party.

2. Linking back to the party (text or button) within your post is very much appreciated . You can grab a button from the side bar if you like.

3. By linking up here, you are giving me permission to feature you here, on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and/or Pinterest.  I'll only use 1-2 pictures from your post and link back to you. Then people will be flocking to your blog to read all about it!!  Spreadin' the love around baby!
Most importantly, go visit some of the links because otherwise it wouldn't be a party would it? 

I am no longer automatically adding you to my email list to send out reminders about the party. If you want a reminder each week, just use the little sign up form below. You will only be signing up for party notifications. I will not use this list for anything else, nor will I ever share it with anyone. ever. period.


 



Saturday, February 15, 2014

Rocking Chair Tutorial Part 2: Painting and Stenciling

I've gotten a lot of comments on my grain sack rocking chair, so I've put together a couple of tutorials on how I did it.


You can read the original post if you want to know the story behind this rocker.   If you missed the first post about recovering the seat, you can read about that here.


I knew I didn't want to paint the whole rocker because I wanted the wood grain to show through, and I also wanted an aged gray look.  Here's what it looked like after my mom stripped it.  I couldn't find any pictures of it before.  That was long before I started blogging.  But trust me, it was in sad shape.


From my stash of paints, I found this light gray paint.  It didn't matter what kind it was.  This happened to be a semi-gloss interior paint.  I just mixed a very small amount with an equal amount of water.  By the way, these little plastic boxes that mushrooms come in make the best little disposable paint pots.


Using a sponge brush with a very small amount of the paint mixture, and working in small sections, I brushed it on and let it set for less than a minute before wiping the excess off with paper towels.


It goes on more like a stain, letting the wood grain show through.  The longer you leave it on before wiping, the more opaque it is.  I recommend wiping it off rather quickly.  You can always add another coat if it is too light.


Here she is all stained.  I love the color, but wanted a little something special for the back of it.  I left it to dry and thought about it for a couple of days.  Then I had a brain storm.


I lost some photos on a corrupted thumb drive so I don't have a good picture of the back before stenciling. But as you can see in the photo below, I painted the curved back piece solid white and lightly sanded the edges.


To accomplish the stenciling, I turned to my Silhouette.  Seriously, it has to be my favorite tool I own. With my silhouette and a roll of contact paper I can conquer the world!  I created a stencil of the first verse of  "Hush Little Baby."  You can read about the story of why I chose that verse here.


Because the back was curved, I had to snip my stencil in various places to make it fit the chair.  Then I cut small slivers of contact paper to cover any exposed areas where I slit it.  I found the easiest way to work on it was to sit on the floor and lay the back of the rocker in my lap.


Here I'm using tweezers to put the middle of the letters back in place.  It was a little painstaking, but I'd rather do that than try to freehand it.  That would have been a disaster!


After the stencil was all in place, I used black acrylic craft paint and a wedge shaped make-up sponge to dab the paint on with.


I just kept pouncing (never use a dragging or "painting" motion) until it was dark enough.


Once it's all done it looks horrible...I kid.  This is before peeling the contact paper off :)


After the main piece of contact paper came off, it looked like this.  Yup...had to use those tweezers again to remove the middle of the letters.


Finally the verse is done!  


One last look at the completed rocker.  


Now Tux thinks I did it just for him.  Silly cat!






This post is linked to these awesome parties:

Thursday Favorite Things at Katherines Corner
Shabbilicious Friday at Shabby Art Boutique

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Glass glitter and a Beautiful Painting

Recently I won some amazing giveaways...yes, not one but two giveaways!  I was so excited as I rarely win anything, even at baby and wedding showers.  I waited until they both arrived to blog about them, because I had an idea for them.  My first win was this beautifully painted ATC from Patsy at Heartworks.  She paints the most beautiful pictures, each conveying a profound spiritual message.  Her artwork is available for purchase here.


 This one reminds me that true joy comes from the Lord.  


My second win was a huge 8 oz. jar of German glitter glass from Lacey at Feathering My Nest.  She has a gorgeous shop where she sells the glitter and her beautiful creations.


 Can you see how this glitter sparkles?  It is just beautiful.  I've been wanting some German glitter glass for a while now, so I was very excited to get this.




My plan was to use the glitter on the edges of the painting.  I am so happy with the way it turned out!


The easiest way to glitter the edge of anything is to crease a piece of paper and pour a small amount of glitter in the crease.  


Then pour a little glue in the corner of the paper and drag the item gently through it so the glue just touches the edges.


Finally dip it in the glitter.  When you're finished, just use the paper to easily pour the glitter back in the jar. No glitter mess to clean up!



I clipped my new tiny art to my Aged Mirror with Chicken Wire Insert




Thank you so much Patsy and Lacey!  I love my new art and glitter!


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